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Episode 866: Noah Syndergaard, Right Now
Date April 20, 2016 Summary Ben and Sam banter about Noah Syndergaard, then answer listener emails about 1-2-3 innings, what David Ortiz could do to replicate Kobe, conservative replay reviewing, and more. Topics * Defining a 1-2-3 inning * Single player impact on a baseball game * All-time record holder progress before age 30 * Unbreakable records * Conservative use of replay review Intro The Mynabirds, "Let the Record Go" Outro The Posies, "Broken Record" Banter * Sam wants to discuss the baseball concept of 'right now' after an announcer said that "Noah Syndergaard has to be the best pitcher in baseball right now". * Ben and Sam wonder how realistic is it to think that Noah Syndergaard is the second best pitcher in baseball (to Clayton Kershaw)? They think he is at best 4th or 5th best. * Kevin Plawecki's chest imprint after blocking a Syndergaard pitch. Email Questions * Bob: "In the top of the 6th in yesterday afternoon's Brewers v. Twins game Jonathan Villar signled then was forced out in a 3-6-3 double play. After the batter struck out the Twins' announcer said 'The Brewers go down 1-2-3, etc.' I've heard other announcers make the same pronouncement. While it's true that only three men batted the first one was not retired as a batter, only as a runner. In my mind that's not a 1-2-3 inning. How does it look to you?" * Christopher: "Today a coworker alerted me to this Wikipedia article, 'List of MLB records considered unbreakable'." * Amos: "Today's article in the New York Times about the Yankees' replay reviewer is actually pretty damning about him, no? The article notes that the Yankees have the highest success rate in baseball on replay reviews (77%) which immediately sent up a red flag in keeping with Sam's principle that if you never miss a flight you're wasting time showing up too early. This sense was confirmed when the article said that the Yankees have issued the fewest challenges since the system was implemented and that the teams with the most are the Rays and the Cubs. Should this article get Brett Webber fired? Are challenges the rare case where a counting stat (most successful challenges) truly is the best measure of true talent?" Play Index * Sam uses the Play Index to look at where all-time record holders were at the age of 29 (compared to all other players through age 29). * Pete Rose, through his age 29 season, was 37th all time in hits among players under 30. * Hank Aaron was 8th in RBI through age 29. Nolan Ryan was 6th in strikeouts through age 29. * Greg Maddux was 11th in wins through age 29. * Barry Bonds was 30th in home runs through age 29. Notes * Ben and Sam agree that a 1-2-3 inning must have the batters retired in order, not on a double play. * A listener wrote in that to match Kobe Bryant's stat line in his final game David Ortiz would need to go 4-11 with two walks and a double in his final game. * Sam thinks it is certainly an obstacle to baseball that the star players, like Bryce Harper, cannot be involved in every single play. * Starlin Castro reached 1,000 career hits faster than Derek Jeter. * Sam thinks that of the 'unbreakable' records listed on the Wikipedia page, the saves record is the most likely to be broken. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 866: Noah Syndergaard, Right Now * Kevin Plawecki chest imprint photo * List of Major League Baseball records considered unbreakable * He Catches What Umps Might Miss by Billy Witz Category:Email Episodes Category:Episodes